A question of hats

[zouave114]

My question is more about what type of hat to wear for certain CW Infantry functions. A discussion recently came up after the Remembrance Day parade, as to whether my unit (7th NJ), should be wearing Hardee Hats or their normal field forage caps. I know the Army regs show shoulder scales, Hardees, etc for dress occasions, but would it be up to the States to say what to wear for parades, etc? Do I need to find a photo of a 7th NJ member in order to lay this to rest? 7th NJ was third Corp, and also wore white laced gaiters.


Jeff

[BrianHicks]

Re: A question of hats

Do I need to find a photo of a 7th NJ member in order to lay this to rest? 7th NJ was third Corp, and also wore white laced gaiters.

Jeff

Looking at period images, as well as reading through personal accounts would be your best starting point.

While you state that the 7th NJ wore white laced gaiters, was this consistent throughout the entire period of their service, or just part of their initial issue upon the Regiment being mustered in ?

[Remember1864]

Re: A question of hats

Hello Jeff...had some time on my hands this evening so I'll share with you what I've found so far. Unfortunately, I may raise more questions than give you answers. :)
Firstly, I agree with Brian. Period images and personal accounts are invaluable for such research. Brian also touches upon something I too would mention relative to the gaiters. This portion of a soldier's uniform would certainly hinge on a particular time period. Granted, they may have been issued gaiters early on in the CW...but how long did they actually wear/keep them?

Many fellows on this forum are "event" or "battle" specific in their impression. In other words, if they/I were representing the 7th NJ at Ream's Station near Petersburg in August of 1864...they/I would most likely try to discover how those men looked on that particular month, in that particular engagement. Granted, these impression "guidelines" are often difficult to achieve, but with some diligent research, one may find quite a bit of documentation.

You mentioned the 7th being part of the III Corps. Is this the time frame you and your pards portray? I noticed that the 7th was only in the III Corps from March of 1862 to March of 1864. That certainly would narrow your research focus. But, from then, the unit changed designations twice more before the end of the CW.

March 1864 to May 1864; 1st Brigade/4th Division / II Corps
May 1864 to July 1865; 3rd Brigade / 3rd Division / II Corps

Online photographs of men of the 7th NJ are out there. But, my quick search turned up only officers...and those were all sans headgear. (Also, all were "studio" shots)
The men I speak of are; Col. Francis Price, Lt Col Ezra A. Carman, 1st Lt Wm H.H. Condit, Col Geo W. Smith, and Captain Henry C. Cooper. The only internet image of a member of the 7th NJ with a hat inlcuded in the photograph was Maj J.D. McIntosh.
Although he is not wearing headgear, a hat sets on the table beside him. Granted, the image doesn't include the entire hat, but from what I can see...it is a fully dressed piece. I don't believe it to be a Hardee hat; looks too short in the crown. But, once again, the image does not focus on the hat but rather the officer. Also, the time period given for the photograph is 1861-1865. (Yeah, I know...that's of little help.)

I did find a book from James River Publications titled; "7th New Jersey Volunteers: A History of the 7th New Jersey Infantry" by John Hayward. The James River website stated the volume to be an "all new history" with "over 80 photos of unit members". On the same note, Amazon.com offers a similar book also by Hayward.
This one sells as "Give it to Them, Jersey Blues! A History of the 7th Regiment, New Jersey Volunteers in the Civil War". An accompanying review states the book is "loaded with photographs of the men who served". At this point, I'm under the impression that these two books are NOT one in the same. But I could find little evidence to support that claim other than the titles are markedly different.

Sounds as if you have a great research project ahead of you. Hope this information is of some use to you. Enjoy it!

John

[AntietamCollector]

Re: A question of hats

Jeff,

This may be little solace, but you might find the image(s) you're looking for on New Jersey Department of State Archives Collection website: http://www.state.nj.us/state/darm/li.../sdea4010.html There's about 400 images on the site, spread out among New Jersey regiments, and listed alphabetically. My guess is John Hayward used most, if not all, of these images in his books.

Hope you find one that will answer your question,

Scott D. Hann

[robert-m]

Re: A question of hats

this has gotten me thinking. as far as the war in the later years, aka in the march to the sea till the bentonville surrender of the AoT. how common would hardee's be in the use of the south at the end of the war? i have look and as i am rather new to this type of research have had no luck any help would be wonderful.

[robert-m]

Re: A question of hats

Let me clarify. During the last part of the war how common would it have been for troops in the AoT to have hardee's?